Former Phillie Juan Pierre steals third base for the Miami Marlins Thursday night at Citizens Bank Park. He later scored the game's first run.

Written by

Paul White
| USA TODAY

The powerful outfielder is the face of the Miami Marlins franchise. Lying there Monday night in the team's glittering, but more-than-half-empty downtown stadium, he suddenly was the embodiment of a baseball/business plan gone awry in a remarkably - maybe unprecedented - short time.

The Marlins rallied to beat the New York Mets in 15 innings in front of the raucous remains of the crowd of 15,605. That's a typical gathering for a team that's averaging 19,331, next to last in the National League, but hardly the norm for a team in its ...